Blue Bossa

As this evocative novel opens, former jazz trumpet star Ronnie Reboulet hasn't picked up his horn in more than five years. Against the shadow of Patty Hearst's kidnapping in 1970s San Francisco, Ronnie, a charming but emotionally distant man, struggles to make a life free of drugs and outside of the music business. With the support of his soulful companion, Betty, and his daughter, Rae, an aspiring singer, Ronnie attempts a comeback that will have readers rooting for him every step of the way. Composed in short scenes that segue into one another like a songwriter's medley, Bart Schneider's Blue Bossa echoes the Buddy Bolden legend in Michael Ondaatje's Coming Through Slaughter. Readers will relish the cross-rhythms of a jazz novel alive with intimate music and a family novel filled with affections withheld and restored.